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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/23994547">Before Too Late (Reader)</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/thatcrazywriterley/pseuds/thatcrazywriterley'>thatcrazywriterley</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>The Too Late Tales [20]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>AEW, All Elite Wrestling, Being The Elite (Web Series), Professional Wrestling, Young Bucks-Fandom</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>How it all started, Multi, Polyamorous Relationships, Polyamory, brothers share a wife, how the brothers met their wife, told from her perspective</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-05-04</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-05-04</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-18 02:02:30</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Not Rated</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,547</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/23994547</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/thatcrazywriterley/pseuds/thatcrazywriterley</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>How the brothers met their wife. Told from her perspective.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Matt Jackson/Reader, Matt Jackson/Reader/Nick Jackson, Nick Jackson/Reader</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>The Too Late Tales [20]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1695274</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Before Too Late (Reader)</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>    </p><p>
  <em>(GIF owned by leelakoiwolff on Tumblr)</em>
</p><p>        <em>I’m here. Baseball hat and glasses. </em></p><p>            I looked up, searching the crowd of people nearby. On the second pass, I saw him. An LA Clippers cap and plastic rimmed glasses with a hoodie and sweatpants. I smiled and straightened up. He was cute. Tall and muscular in the right places, long brown hair tied back in a looped ponytail. He was <em>really </em>cute.</p><p>            But so was the guy standing beside him. He was tall, too, with dark brown hair, glasses, and an impressive set of sideburns. His brows rose as they came closer. I looked him over, admiring how he was broad in the shoulders and chest.</p><p>            “Hi,” the one in the Clippers hat said, holding his hand out to me. I grasped his hand, feeling the rasp of rough skin against mine. Up close, I could see that his eyes were a bright, beautiful blue. There was something adorable about him in the glasses, and I couldn’t ignore that he had a charming smile. “I’m Nick Jackson. And this is my brother, Matt.”</p><p>            Just as he let go of my hand, I turned to his brother. His long hair was knotted at the back of his head. He took my hand—he had the same rough feeling—and watched me with dark brown eyes. When he smiled, his cheeks rounded and his eyes crinkled at the corners.      </p><p>            “I’m Y/F/N Y/L/N,” I said, tucking my hair nervously behind my ears.  I looked down at the suitcases and then back up at them. Nick was standing with both hands on the handle of my suitcase. Matt was watching me. “It’s lucky I’ve got that tag. Otherwise this would have been a disaster. There’s nothing on yours.”</p><p>            “I keep telling him to get one, but he doesn’t listen,” Matt said suddenly. He tucked his hands into his pockets and looked sideways at his brother. I could have sworn I saw him smirk.</p><p>            I couldn’t help but laugh. It came out as a sort of giggle that made me cringe inwardly. I hadn’t <em>giggled </em>since I was in middle school. To distract myself from my embarrassment, I opened the message that he’d sent and clicked on <em>Add Contact</em>. “Nick Jackson, you said?”</p><p>            He nodded. My heart skipped against my ribs. He was blushing. I’d put money on it. And Matt was watching me with his dark eyes in a way that made <em>me</em> want to blush. I drew up my courage and stepped toward them, rolling Nick’s suitcase up in front of me. With one smooth move, I pushed his forward and snatched mine from his hands.</p><p>            I felt the grin lift the corner of my lips as I looked the both of them over. “Keep in touch, Nick and Matt Jackson,” I said, backing away a few steps before turning and heading for the door.</p><p>            My heart was pounding against my ribs as I walked away. It was like I couldn’t get my breath. <em>What the </em>hell<em> were you thinking</em>, I thought. <em>Where did that come from?</em> I felt like I’d lost my mind. The moment I saw them replayed in my head, and I felt my stomach turn over. Matt and Nick Jackson were both cute—handsome really—and way out of my league.</p><p>            I’d never been particularly good at flirting. Ever.  How had I found the courage to be coy with <em>two</em> ridiculously cute guys?</p><p>***</p><p>            Two days later, I was curled up on my sofa beneath a blanket watching trash TV when my phone pinged with a message. I muted my show and picked it up to find a message from a number I didn’t recognize. Then I saw the actual message and felt a slow smile curl my lips.</p><p>            <em>This is Matt Jackson. From LAX? My brother had your suitcase.</em></p><p>            An image of him popped into my head. I could see his dark hair and deep brown eyes and the smile that gave him chipmunk cheeks. Before I responded, I hit the <em>Add Contact</em> and tapped in his name.</p><p>            <em>I remember. :)</em></p><p>            My pulse quickened as I waited. I sucked in a breath when I saw the three dots pop up in the left corner of my screen. My fingers twitched in anticipation.</p><p>            <em>I was wondering… if you’re anywhere near Rancho Cucamonga…if I could take you to dinner sometime.</em></p><p>            I clutched the phone to my chest, kicking my heels against the cushions in elation. It had been a long time since anyone had asked me on a date. And to have it be one of the best-looking guys I’d ever seen? That just made it even better.</p><p>            Those three dots appeared again. <em>No pressure. Thought it might be fun. </em></p><p>            <em>I’d like that. I’m in Riverside. </em></p><p>            I waited… watching that corner for the dots. Instead, the trill of my ringtone broke the silence. My heart pounded hard against my ribs as I accepted the call, turning on speakerphone.</p><p>            “Hello, Matt Jackson,” I said, heat rushing into my cheeks. I bit down on my bottom lip, surprised by the confidence in my voice.</p><p>            “Hello, Y/F/N Y/L/N,” he replied. His voice was deep and slightly rough, and I had a sudden perfect, clear picture of him smiling in my head. “So… you want to grab a bite this weekend? Saturday afternoon, maybe?”</p><p>            I grinned up at my ceiling. “That sounds good. Do I need to get fancied up?”</p><p>            He laughed, and something warm slipped down into my belly. “I was thinking Cheesecake Factory or Anchos. Nothing too big.”</p><p>            “I <em>love</em> Anchos,” I replied. “How about I meet you there at five on Saturday?”</p><p>            There was something about Matt’s voice that made my whole body go warm and tingling. “I’ll see you Saturday, Y/F/N Y/L/N.”</p><p>            “See you Saturday, Matt Jackson.”</p><p>***</p><p>            I sat out on the patio of my apartment, watching the sky turn dark as night slipped over the horizon. My thoughts shifted to that day in LAX. I pictured Nick and Matt Jackson coming toward me, and I couldn’t help but grin so broadly that I had to hide my face in my hands. I’d felt a snapping electricity of attraction to both of them. The truth was I was definitely interested in both, but I couldn’t deny that there was something about Matt Jackson. It was in his eyes.</p><p>            My phone beeped with a message. When I looked down, I saw <em>Nick Jackson</em> on the screen. I swiped to open the screen and checked the text.</p><p>            <em>Hi, Y/N. It’s Nick from LAX. I wanted to apologize again for the suitcase thing.</em></p><p>            I tilted my head, keenly aware that he wasn’t concerned about apologizing for a simple accident. My fingers moved swiftly. <em>It’s okay. Happens. </em></p><p>            <em>Still, I’d like to make it up to you. If you’re near Rancho Cucamonga, I’d like to take you to dinner to apologize. </em></p><p>            I deflated a little. I pictured his blue eyes and charming smile and felt a rush of guilt through my chest. My lungs dragged in a deep breath.</p><p>            <em>Nick… that’s really sweet…</em></p><p>            <em>But</em> <em>I don’t think that’s a good idea. I’m… I’m having dinner with Matt on Saturday. </em></p><p>            Three dots. There and then not. I sighed and wanted to kick myself. That wasn’t the best way to drop that information on him.</p><p>            <em>Oh. That’s great. Have a good time!</em></p><p>            I closed my eyes and took a few deep, steadying breaths. God, I felt so guilty.</p><p>            <em>Thanks. Hey… stay in touch, okay? I think we could be friends. </em></p><p>            I waited. And waited. And <em>waited</em>. And <strong><em>waited</em></strong>.</p><p>            And then…</p><p>            <em>I’d like that, Y/N.</em></p><p>***</p><p>            Matt was already outside Anchos when I pulled up. He was dressed in dark wash jeans, a heather grey shirt, and a zippered hoodie. I took a deep breath and walked across the parking lot, glad I’d decided to stick with something simple as well.</p><p>            When he saw me, he grinned. His eyes were hidden by dark sunglasses, but I could only imagine that they were beautifully dark and sparkling. “Hey, Y/F/N Y/L/N.” His voice was sweet and warm.</p><p>            “Hello, Matt Jackson,” I replied, tucking my hair behind my ears nervously. I looked away, feeling a weight in my chest. My breath came in a great gasp. “Listen, before we do this…”</p><p>            Matt held up his hand. “It’s just dinner.”</p><p>            I smiled. “Hopefully more than that. <em>Eventually</em>. But I just wanted to tell you… start off with honesty… your brother asked me out. Not long after you did.”</p><p>            He nodded and tucked his hands in his pockets. “Can I ask you a question?”</p><p>            “You just did,” I returned, bumping into his shoulder. “But you can ask another.”</p><p>            “If he’d asked first…”</p><p>            “Yes, I would have said yes. But you asked first. And unless you royally screw this up,” I reached up and pushed his sunglasses up onto the top of his head, “the <em>only</em> thing Nick and I will ever be is friends.”</p><p>            He held his hand out, palm up. “Shall we then?”</p><p>            I felt heat rush into my face as I set my fingers against his palm. Matt smiled at me as he closed his hand around mine. I couldn’t help but smile back. “Let’s.”</p>
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